Nikki’s Story

Below is Nikki's story.

Nikki Fooks was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Texas. Her parents divorced when she was in 1st grade, after which she lived with her mom and her 2 brothers. In 2006, Nikki’s mom was diagnosed with cancer, and she tragically lost her battle with cancer in 2008 when Nikki was just 9 years old. After her mother’s passing, Nikki and her siblings found themselves moving in with her father, whom they had very little contact with, and his current wife. It wasn't long after they moved in that her father divorced his current wife, and quickly remarried a year later. Unfortunately, that marriage didn't last long either. In a very short period of time, Nikki and her siblings not only lost their mother, but also 2 other female figures they had started to connect and develop relationships with. In 2014, Nikki's father met a woman online, and after dating for a short period of time moved his family to Minnesota. Nikki and her siblings met this woman for the very first time when they found themselves moving in with her. Once again, they were trying to adapt to having another "mom" in the picture.

Over the years, Nikki has struggled with social anxiety, depression and adjusting to a new environment. I met Nikki in the fall of 2014 when she came to HSCL with her older brother. Nikki was quiet and reserved but super fun to be around. I immediately noticed that Nikki had a big heart for others but struggled to care for her own well-being. Nikki loved coming to CL and participating, however, she was resistant to accepting the fact that Jesus loved her.

Nikki went on a fall retreat last year and to Colorado for summer camp. She was adamant that she did not need the Lord. She would always say “Jesus has never done anything for me”. My leaders and I would continually love her where she was at and continued to pray for her. Just last month, I took students to Trout Lake Camp for a fall retreat. Nikki was one of the first students to sign up. I believed this would be the weekend that God would get a hold of her heart! On Friday night the speaker asked the 300 students to find something that represented their heart. Nikki was looking for something hollow but found a “rock”. In her words “the rock represented her cold, dead heart and the only thing missing was a hole because mine is empty”. On Saturday night during worship, the Lord gave me a word for Nikki. I resisted telling her because I was nervous it was my words and not the Lord’s. After a few minutes of prayer I decided to tell her. The Lord wanted her to know that “her mom has been looking down on her and is proud of the woman she has become”. When I told her that, it was like a dam broke forth. It was in that moment that the Lord got hold of Nikki’s heart. The tears began to flow and continued for about 15-20 minutes. Nikki was ready to receive Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. In her own words, she began to speak to God with a sincere heart. It was a beautiful sight to see God meet her where she was at.

Over the course of the last 3 weeks Nikki has begun to ask a ton of questions. She is hungry for the Word. Maegan bought her a new Bible with a journal. Nikki’s journey over the last 2 years is a solid reminder of the heart of God. He continues to pursue us with an unending love. Nikki’s life began on November 12th, 2016 when she said YES to Jesus!

If you are reading this then you have played a part in that. Through your prayers and financial support you have made it possible for me to reach students like Nikki with the Gospel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! - Jim Rogers